Francis Hopkinson
Francis Hopkinson (September 21,http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000783Francis Hopkinson was born on September 21, 1737, according to the then-used Julian calendar. In 1752, however, Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, which moved Hopkinson’s birthday 11 days to October 2, 1737. See George E. Hastings, The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1926), p. 43. 1737 – May 9, 1791) was an American poet and prose author, a composer, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey. Hopkins designed the first official American flag. He served in various roles in the early United States government, including as a member of the Continental Congress and chair of the Navy Board. He later served as a federal judge in Pennsylvania. Life Youth and education Hopkinson was born at Philadelphia in 1737, the son of Mary (Johnson) and Thomas Hopkinson, emigrants from England.Hopkinson, Francis. Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Pennsylvania State University. Web, July 14, 2016. He became a member of the first class at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) in 1751.Francis Hopkinson Time Line, Francis Hopkinson wiki. Web, July 14,2016. He earned an A.B. in 1757, and an A.M. in 1760.Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791), University Archives & Records Center, University o Pennsylvania. Web, July 14, 2016. Early career Hopkinson was secretary to a Provincial Council of Pennsylvania Indian commission in 1761 that made a treaty with the Lenape (Delaware) and several Iroquois] tribes. In 1763, he was appointed customs collector for Salem, New Jersey. Hopkinson spent from May 1766 to August 1767 in England in hopes of becoming commissioner of customs for North America. Although unsuccessful, he spent time with the future Prime Minister Lord North, Hopkinson's cousin James Johnson (Bishop of Worcester), and the painter Benjamin West. After his return, Hopkinson operated a dry goods business in Philadelphia and married Ann Borden on September 1, 1768. They would have five children. Hopkinson obtained a public appointment as a customs collector for New Castle, Delaware on May 1, 1772. He moved to Bordentown, New Jersey in 1774, became a member of the New Jersey Provincial Council, and was admitted to the New Jersey bar on May 8, 1775. He resigned his crown-appointed positions in 1776 and, on June 22, went on to represent New Jersey in the Second Continental Congress where he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was appointed to Congress’ Marine Committee in that year. He departed the Congress on November 30, 1776 to serve on the Navy Board at Philadelphia. The Board reported to the Marine Committee. Hopkinson later became the Navy Board’s chairman. As part of the nation's government, he was treasurer of the Continental Loan Office in 1778; appointed judge of the Admiralty Court of Pennsylvania in 1779 and reappointed in 1780 and 1787; and helped ratify the Constitution during the constitutional convention in 1787. Flag controversy On Saturday, June 14, 1777, Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the first official national flag of the United States. The resolution creating the flag came from the Continental Marine Committee. Hopkinson became a member of the committee in 1776. At the time of the flag’s adoption, he was the Chairman of the Navy Board, which was under the Marine Committee. Today, he would be known as the Secretary of the Navy. Hopkinson is recognized as the designer of the flag of the United States, and the journals of the Continental Congress support this. His first letter in May 25, 1780, requesting compensation from Congress was almost comical. He asked for a quarter cask of wine in payment for designing the U.S. flag, the Great Seal of the United States, and various other contributions. After Congress received a second letter from Hopkinson asking for cash in the amount of L2,700, the Auditor General, James Milligan, commissioned an evaluation of the request for payment. In this second letter, Hopkinson did not mention designing the flag of the United States. Instead, he listed "the great Naval Flag of the United States" (See illustration of flag.) along with the other contributions. The report from the commissioner of the Chamber of Accounts said that the bill was reasonable and ought to be paid. Congress used the usual bureaucratic tactics of asking for an itemized bill for payment in cash. After that, there was further bureaucratic back and forth including a request for an itemized bill and a committee to investigate Hopkinson’s charges that his payment was being delayed for arbitrary reasons. Congress eventually refused to pay Hopkinson for the reason that Hopkinson was already paid as a public servant as a member of Congress. Congress also mentioned that Hopkinson was not the only person consulted on the designs that were "incidental" to the Treasury Board. This referred to Hopkinson's work on the Great Seal. He served as a consultant to a committee working on the design of the Great Seal.transcriptBuescher, John. "All Wrapped up in the Flag", Teachinghistory.org, accessed August 21, 2011. Fourteen men worked on the Great Seal, including two other consultants – Pierre Eugene Du Simitiere (first Great Seal committee) and William Barton (third committee). No known committee of the Continental Congress was ever documented with the assignment to design the national flag or naval flag. There is no known sketch of a Hopkinson flag—either U.S. or naval—in existence today. Hopkinson, however, did incorporate elements of the two flags he designed in his rough sketches of the Great Seal of the United States and his design for the Admiralty Board Seal.Williams (2012), pp. 7-9. The rough sketch of his second Great Seal proposal has 7 white stripes and 6 red stripes. The impression of Hopkinson’s Admiralty Board Seal has a chevron with 7 red stripes and 6 white stripes. The Great Seal reflects Hopkinson’s design for a governmental flag and the Admiralty Board Seal reflects Hopkinson’s design for a naval flag.Williams (2012), pp. 7–9. Both flags were intended to have 13 stripes. Because the original stars used in the Great Seal had six points, Hopkinson's U.S. flag might also have intended the use of 6-pointed stars.Williams (2012), p. 8. This is bolstered by his original sketchPatterson and Dougall, p. 9. that showed asterisks with six points. The legend of Betsy Ross as the designer of the first flag entered into American consciousness about the time of the 1876 centennial celebrations, owing to the efforts of her grandson, William Canby.Canby and Balderston, pp. 110–11. This flag with its circle of 13 stars came into popular use as a flag commemorating the nation's birth. Many Americans today still cling to the Betsy Ross legend that she designed the flag, and most are unaware of Hopkinson's legacy. The circle of stars (a circle connotes eternity) first appeared after the war ended and after Hopkinson’s original design. Hopkinson's letter and response On May 25, 1780, Hopkinson wrote a letter to the Continental Board of Admiralty mentioning several patriotic designs he had completed during the previous three years. One was his Board of Admiralty seal, which contained a shield of seven red and six white stripes on a blue field. Others included the Treasury Board seal, “7 devices for the Continental Currency,” and “the Flag of the United States of America.” In the letter, Hopkinson noted that he hadn’t asked for any compensation for the designs, but was now looking for a reward: “a Quarter Cask of the public Wine.” The board sent that letter on to Congress. Hopkinson submitted another bill on June 24 for his “drawings and devices.” The first item on the list was “The Naval Flag of the United States.” The price listed was 9 pounds. This flag with its red, outer stripes was designed to show up well on ships at sea. A parallel flag for the national flag was most likely intended by Hopkinson with white, outer stripes as on the Great Seal of the United States and on the Bennington flag, which commemorated 50th anniversary of the founding of the United States (1826). Ironically, the Navy flag was preferred as the national flag. The Treasury Board turned down the request in an October 27, 1780, report to Congress. The Board cited several reasons for its action, including the fact that Hopkinson “was not the only person consulted on those exhibitions of Fancy were incidental to the Board (the U.S. flag, the Navy flag, the Admiralty seal, and the Great Seal with a reverse), and therefore cannot claim the sole merit of them and not entitled in this respect to the full sum charged.”Williams (1988), p. 47. This is most probably a reference to his work as a consultant to the second committee that worked on the Great Seal of the United States.Williams (1988), p. 48. Therefore, he would not be eligible to be paid for the Great Seal.Journals of the Continental Congress – Friday, October 27, 1780 Great Seal of the United States Francis Hopkinson provided assistance to the second committee that designed the Great Seal of the United States. On today's seal, the 13 stars (constellation) representing the 13 original states have five points. They are arranged in a larger star that has six points. The constellation comprising 13 smaller stars symbolizes the national motto, “E pluribus unum.” Originally, the design had individual stars with six points, but this was changed in 1841 when a new die was cast. This seal is now impressed upon the reverse of the United States one-dollar bill. The seal, designed by William Barton, contains an unfinished pyramid with a radiant eye, an image used by Hopkinson when he designed the continental $50 currency.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Continental_$50_note_1778Univ. of Notre Dame, Coin and Currency Collections Judgeship On September 24, 1789, President George Washington nominated Hopkinson to the newly created position of judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was confirmed by the United States Senate, and received his commission, on September 26, 1789. Only a few years into his service as a federal judge, Hopkinson died in Philadelphia at the age of 53 from a sudden apoplectic seizure. He was buried in Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia. Writing Hopkinson wrote popular airs and political satires (jeux d'esprit) in the form of poems and pamphlets. Some were widely circulated, and powerfully assisted in arousing and fostering the spirit of political independence that issued in the American Revolution. His principal writings are A Pretty Story . . . (1774), a satire about King George, The Prophecy (1776), and The Political Catechism (1777). Other notable essays are "Typographical Method of conducting a Quarrel", "Essay on White Washing", and "Modern Learning". Many of his writings can be found in Miscellaneous Essays and Occasional Writings, published at Philadelphia in three volumes in 1792 (see Bibliography). Hopkinson began to play the harpsichord at age 17 and, during the 1750's, hand-copied arias, songs, and instrumental pieces by many European composers. He is credited as being the first American born composer to commit a composition to paper with his 1759 composition "My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free." By the 1760s he was good enough on the harpsichord to play with professional musicians in concerts. Some of his more notable songs include "The Treaty", "The Battle of the Kegs", and "The New Roof, a song for Federal Mechanics". He also played organ at Philadelphia's Christ Church and composed or edited a number of hymns and psalms including: "A Collection of Psalm Tunes with a few Anthems and Hymns Some of them Entirely New, for the Use of the United Churches of Christ Church and St. Peter's Church in Philadelphia" (1763), "A psalm of thanksgiving, Adapted to the Solemnity of Easter: To be performed on Sunday, the 30th of March, 1766, at Christ Church, Philadelphia" (1766), and "The Psalms of David, with the Ten Commandments, Creed, Lord's Prayer, &c. in Metre" (1767). In the 1780s, Hopkinson modified a glass harmonica to be played with a keyboard and invented the Bellarmonic, an instrument that utilized the tones of metal balls.Francis Hopkinson biography at the Library of Congress Performing Arts Digital Library; accessed 30 September 2015. Recognition The University of the State of Pennsylvania awarded Hopkinson an honorary LL.D. degree in 1790. At the University of Pennsylvania, one of the buildings in the Fisher-Hassenfeld College House is named after him. Fisher College House|website=fh.house.upenn.edu|access-date=2016-06-02}} Publications Poetry *''An Exercise: Consisting of a dialogue and ode, sacred to the memory of his late gracious majesty George II''. Philadelphia: Andrew Stueart, 1761. *''An Exercise: Containing a dialogue and ode on the accession of his present gracious majesty George III''. Philadelphia: printed by William Dunlap, 1762. *''Science: A poem''. Philadelphia: printed by William Dunlap, 1762. *''A Psalm of Thanksgiving''. Philadelphia: 1766. *''The psalms of David, with the ten commandments, creed, Lord's prayer, &c. in metre''. New York: James Parker, 1767. *''An Ode for the Fourth of July''. Philadelphia: 1788. Songs *''A Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes''. New York: Hodge & Shober, 1774. *''Seven songs for the harpsichord or forte piano'' (score). Philadelphia: J. Dobson, 1788; Philadelphia: Musical Americana, 1954. *''Six Songs'' (score; edited by Harold Vincent Milligan). Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1918. *''A Washington Garland: Seven songs dedicated to George Washington'' (score). Boston: Arthur P. Schmidt, 1918. Novels *''[https://archive.org/details/oldfarmnewfarmpo00hopk A Pretty Story: Written in the year of our Lord 1774'' (as "Peter Grievous"). Philadelphia: John Dunlap, 1774. *also published as The Old Farm and the New Farm: A political allegory. New York: Dana, 1856. Non-fiction *''The Lawfulness, Excellency and Advantage of Instrumental Music, in the public worship of God'' (with John Todd). 2nd edition, Philadelphia: Andrew Steuart, 1763. *''Errata; or, The art of printing incorrectly''. Philadelphia: William Bradford, 1763. *''Account of the great federal procession, Philadelphia, July 4, 1788''. Philadelphia: M. Carey, 1788. *''An Oration: Which might have been delivered to the students in anatomy''. Philadelphia: T. Dobson & T. Lang, 1789. *''Judgments of the Admiralty of Philadelphia, in Four Suits''. Philadelphia: T. Dobson, 1792. Juvenile *''The Battle of the Kegs''. Philadelphia: 1779. **(illustrated by Paul Galdone). New York: Crowell, 1964. Collected editions * The Miscellaneous Essays and Occasional Writings. (3 volumes), Philadelphia: printed by T. Dobson, 1792. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III *''Comical Spirit of Seventy-Six: The humor of Francis Hopkinson'' (edited by Paul M. Zall). San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, 1976. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Francis Hopkinson, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 14, 2016. See also * Francis Hopkinson House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Burlington County, New Jersey References * George E. Hastings. The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1926. * * Notes External links ;Poems *"[http://spenserians.cath.vt.edu/TextRecord.php?action=GET&textsid=37064 L'Allegro, Il Penseroso" *"Dialogue, &c. for the Commencement in the College of Philadelphia" *Francis Hopkinson at Poetry Nook (11 poems) ;Songs *"My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free" ;Prose * "AN ACCOUNT OF THE GRAND FEDERAL PROCESSION. PERFORMED AT PHILADELPHIA ON FRIDAY THE 4TH OF JULY 1788" by Francis Hopkinson – Hopkinson's review of a Philadelphia 4 July parade of 1788; celebrating the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. ;Books * ;About *Francis Hopkinson at Biography.com *Hopkinson, Francis (1737-1791) at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress * Francis Hopkinson, 1737-1791 at the Library of Congress * Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) at the University of Pennsylvania Archives * Francis Hopkinson at the Pennsylvania Center for the Book *Francis Hopkinson at USFlag.org *The Songs and Poetry of Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) at Amaranth Publishing *Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) at English Poetry, 1579-1830 *Francis Hopkinson Time Line Etc. * The Hopkinson Family Papers, including correspondence, documents and printed materials, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Category:1737 births Category:1791 deaths Category:Members of the New Jersey Provincial Council Category:Continental Congressmen from New Jersey Category:Flags of the American Revolution Category:Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Pennsylvania Category:Flag designers Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni Category:American people of English descent Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:United States federal judges appointed by George Washington Category:Burials at Christ Church, Philadelphia Category:People from Bordentown, New Jersey Category:American male composers Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Deaths from epilepsy Category:18th-century composers